The Underground and Political Student Newspapers consists of student newspapers with content that is socially subversive or political in nature. It documents several controversial newspapers from the 1960s-1970s and various legal issues that arose in conjunction with the newspapers’ publication and distribution in the Greater Lafayette area, and the Purdue University West Lafayette Campus in particular. The various legal controversies are documented in the Bauls and Red Brick newspapers. The later 1990s-2000s political newspapers feature commentary and current events. The largest run of political newspapers is the12 issues of the Purdue Review, which wasdistributed by the University Conservative Action Network.

The Alternative Independent Student Newspapers consist of newspapers that focus on current events in the Purdue University and Greater Lafayette area. They do not provide substantial political commentary or subversive content. Instead, they target particular subgroups of the Purdue University student body. The Omen was published for off-campus students as well as married and graduate students. The International Reporter was published for international students. And Who Cares? was a student government publication aimed at informing the student body of student government news.

Bauls was an underground student newspaper published by Bauls of the Brickyard Incorporated and sold at Purdue University Memorial Union, among other places, by the Peace Union, a student organization. The Bauls staff included Marty Simon, Jeff Brandt, Will Peters, Carole Scheiber, George Stavis, Scott Dobberstein, Mary Louise Hickman, Stanley Addicks, Margaret McKritrick, Lee Koch, Laurie Hunt, and Noel Beasley. Articles in Bauls covered a range of topics including resistance to the Vietnam War, marijuana, racial equality, and religion. In addition, it also published poetry and artwork, including drawings and photographs of people in the nude. It was a member of the Underground Press Syndicate and the Liberation News Service.

The first issue ofBauls went on sale in the Union on January 6, 1969. In this issue, articles covered a variety of topics, but of particular concern to the administration was a nude photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. The following day, Deans Scott and Zissis banned the Peace Union from selling Bauls in the Memorial Union building, but the group continued to distribute the newspaper and extended their solicitation to the dorms, fraternities, and other areas on campus. Campus police did not arrest students, but photographs were taken of students distributing the paper so that they may be identified later. On January 11, 1969, students George Stavis, William Peters, Carol Scheiber, and William Davenport contacted William Erbecker, a lawyer in Indianapolis, regarding the Bauls controversy. Erbecker notified Dean Donald Mallet, Vice President of Student Affairs, that he was investigating whether Purdue had violated the rights of students in suspending the selling ofBauls on campus. Concurrently, Deans Scott and Zissis conferred with Purdue legal counsel on the matter of allowing Bauls to be sold on campus. The legal counsel affirmed the right of students to sell Bauls on campus because it did not meet the state criteria for obscenity.

On January 30, 1969, Bauls staff used the Exponent office in the Union building to produce some of the second issue, hiring a typist and renting Exponent equipment. The Bauls staff were asked to leave by Mr. Smalley, as they did not have permission to work on the newspaper in the Union. On February 3, the second issue went on sale. This issue chronicled the controversial events following the publication of the first issue and included an unflattering comment allegedly made by Mr. Bredemier, the assistant to the Dean of Men. The third issue was sold on February 18 and featured nude photographs on the front and back covers, photos of nude students, and a sexually-explicit masthead. This issue prompted the Purdue legal counsel to reverse its opinion, declaring the issue ofBauls legally obscene. President Hovde sought to ban the issue from campus but did not find support with the Chairmen of Faculty and Student Senate Committees and the student body President and Vice-President. As a result, he requested recommendations from the aforementioned committees regarding the matter.

On March 23, issue four was published comparable to the others, but no further issues appeared that semester.

The Collection of Student Newspapers at Purdue University is an artificial collection that documents newspapers produced by students at Purdue University and the Greater Lafayette area. It primarily features underground newspapers that reflect the counterculture of the 1960s-1970s. Other newspapers, primarily from the 1990s-2000s, feature varying political perspectives, such as the conservative Purdue Review. The collection also includes independent student newspapers that focus on apolitical audiences, such as international students. Some issues of newspaper runs are missing, and some newspaper runs were limited to a single or a few issues. Types of materials include newspapers, news clippings, and broadsides.

Please see the attached finding aid for a detailed list of newspapers.